By the time the Korean War ended, in 1953, fifty thousand Americans had
returned home in coffins. With the end of the War came President Eisenhower's
promise of a bright future for the United States. It was the beginning of an
economic boom unlike any in the history of the Country. For the first time since
the Great Depression of 1929 America was not in crisis.By the time the Korean
War ended, in 1953, fifty thousand Americans had returned home in coffins. With
the end of the War came President Eisenhower's promise of a bright future for
the United States. It was the beginning of an economic boom unlike any in the
history of the Country. For the first time since the Great Depression of 1929
America was not in crisis. During the latter part of 1953 mass consumerism
was on the rise and money was in the bank. Americans moved up to the "middle
class" at the rate of one million a year and real wages were rising at an
unprecedented 4.5% yearly. It was a time of conformity when men, dressed in gray
flannel suits and white shirts, went to their white-collar jobs and women kept
the home fires burning in their pastel, "cookie cutter" houses of America's new
suburbia. Life centered around the stability of home and family and 97% of
marriageable men and women were married, it was a couples society and they were
all having children, the baby boom was in full swing..Americans began their love
affair with TV during the early part of the decade and by the mid 50s 3/4 of
them owned a television set and spent 1/3 of their waking hours watching I Love
Lucy, The Honeymooners, Jack Benny, Queen for A Day, What's My Line, Ed Sullivan
and American Bandstand. Consumerism flourished as television ads convinced
viewers of the need to keep up with the "Jones'" by owning the latest gadgets
and goods.For Black citizens, in the midst of this new American prosperity, life
remained unchanged but change was in the air. The 1954 United States Supreme
Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education was among the most significant
turning points in the development of our country. It dismantled the legal basis
for racial segregation in schools and other public facilities by declaring that
the discriminatory nature of racial segregation ... "violates the 14th amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the
laws,"The southern states resisted integration. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks,
weary from an exhausting day of work as a seamstress, boarded a bus in
Montgomery, Alabama. She sat in the black section at the back of the bus but
when the white seats had filled she was told to give up her seat to a white man.
Rosa Parks refused and in so doing became the first prominent figure of what
became the Movement. The twenty-six year old minister, Martin Luther King, Jr.
led the black citizens in a non-violent boycott of the Montgomery buses. During
the boycott white extremists bombed Kings home. The boycott continued for 381
days until, in 1956, the Federal Supreme ruled to desegregate the buses. In 1957
President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne to accompany the Arkansas Nine
to classes at Central High in Little Rock. Three weeks earlier the black
students were prevented by white students, teachers and parents from entering
the school in spite of the Brown v. The Board of Education ruling.There was a
change happening in music. A sound that had its roots in black music and was
referred to as "race music" was becoming popular with white teens. Early in 1951
disc jockey, Alan Freed, realized that white teenagers with money to spend were
buying records of what had been considered exclusively Negro music a year
earlier. By the summer of that same year the "Moondog Show" premiered from
Cleavland. Disc jockey, Alan Freed, was "The Moondog" and played this new music
with a "beat". His shows were a phenomenal hit and Alan Freed is credited for
naming the new music, "Rock 'n Roll" Sam Phillips, a Memphis recording man and
enthusiast of black music immediately recognized a special quality in Elvis
Presley, who had been influenced by Southern black gospel and blues. On July 5,
1954 at Sun Records Elvis recorded "I'm All Right, Mama" with "Blue Moon of
Kentucky" on the flip side. Soon after, he was named "Most Up and Coming
Hillbilly Artist of The Year".By February of 1955 Bill Haley's version of "Shake
Rattle and Roll" had sold 1 million copies, Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" was on
the charts and then came Little Richard with, "Tutti Frutti". Rock'n Roll was
born, and here to stay. Even as parents disapproved of it as "devil music" the
kids couldn't get enough. The automobile became an American icon during the
prosperity of the 50s. The Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet sedans and Chrysler
station-wagons became symbols of the new affluent American society. The nation
was suddenly mobile and "Drive-in" became a part of the language and culture.
Public Works began the construction of an extensive highway system like no other
time in history and road trips in big-finned cars became a national
past-time.The Cold War between the world's Super Powers, America and Russia,
cast a shadow of fear over the Frivolous Fifties. The Atomic and Hydrogen bombs
were created and the military performed 200 above-ground nuclear tests between
1954 and 1958. There was failure after failure in the rocket launching
competition between the two countries until Russia realized success with it's
Sputnik on October 4, 1957. Americans found themselves watching the skies and
learning to "duck and cover". By the latter part of the decade Marilyn Monroe
had appeared as the first centerfold in Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine and Ed
Sullivan had backed down by inviting Elvis to perform, two months after calling
him vulgar and exclaiming that he would never appear on his television show. The
youth had their own music and the Beats, with their hip new language, became the
forefathers of the 60s counter-culture.Profound economic, political, racial and
social changes had taken place in a short time. Happy Days? Yes, but complex and
evolving too. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vicki writes original content for her
retro website, The Nostalgic Boomer. She is a baby boomer who lives and works as
a Legal Assistant in a County Attorney's Office in Arizona and spends her spare
time writing poetry, fiction, articles for web content and creating web design.
You may view the latest post at
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